A chronicle of my journey to Pitcairn Island and the 11 days that I stayed there.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Day 4

I got up at 7 AM, and Simon cooked bacon and eggs for our breakfast.

The islanders decided to set up a market in the town square to sell their handicrafts to the visitors currently on the island. I don't normally buy souvenirs, but I was curious what Pitcairn crafts were like.

Wooden plates

I went to the town square at 10 AM, which is when the market opened. There were several islanders standing behind tables with their wares. I saw Betty Christian selling Pitcairn T-shirts and a Pitcairn cookbook that she had written. I saw Dave Brown selling wooden plates, turtles, and sharks that he had carved. I saw Meralda Warren selling accessories that she had made, baskets that she had woven, and a music CD of her singing Pitcairn songs that she had written. These were all things that they sell to passengers on cruise ships.

I bought a small wooden turtle from Dave Brown for $10. I asked him how long it takes for him to make a carving, and he said a small turtle takes several hours, whereas a larger shark takes a whole day. He joked that he earned 80 cents per hour from making these things.

After the market, I walked behind the town square to the Pitcairn museum, which the islanders had opened for the visitors currently on the island. It is fairly small, but has some interesting reading material. It also has the Bounty Bible, which was the Bible used on the Bounty, and was used by John Adams when he converted the island to Christianity after the murders.

Christian's Cave

After lunch, I decided to hike to Christian's Cave, which is where Fletcher Christian supposedly went sometimes to contemplate his fate and spend time alone. On the way to the cave, I passed under Big Stone, which is where the mutineer William McCoy produced alcohol in the 1790s that contributed to the murders. The hike to the cave required scrambling up a steep slope, but the view from the cave was wonderful.

Later in the afternoon, I walked down to the landing to say farewell to some of the visitors. Some of the visitors had opted to stay on Pitcairn for four days only. The Claymore was going to take them back to Mangareva, pick up a few more visitors, and then return to Pitcairn. The Claymore makes these additional trips during every three-month visit in order to give visitors the option of staying for four days or for 11 days.

The tourist from Australia, the tourist from Slovakia, and the tourist from Chicago were all leaving. Dennis was also leaving, and I wished him luck on his book. His next destination for his book was Mount Athos in northern Greece, home to some interesting monasteries. Jacqui Christian was also leaving, and I wished her luck on her new life.

After they left the island on the longboat, I walked up the Hill of Difficulty and went home. Simon told me that he liked Scrabble, so we played three games.